I received this email a couple of days ago and am posting it for all to see
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Well, I wish we had better news, but we are stranded in Haiti. Our mission to deliver all the precious gifts from the Virgin Islands went very well... we completed everything on schedule, and then ran into a very strong gale on the way home that wreaked havoc on 'Sophisticated Lady'. We had already experienced a problem with our main engine cooling system about 24 hours out. After trying to start the engine we found there was no cooling water in the exhaust, and the exhaust was now pouring into the cabin of the boat. Further inspection revealed the sea-water pump had stopped pumping water, and the lack of cooling water to the wet exhaust system literally melted the muffler.
The force of the gale, and the erratic sea conditions below the Cape on the South side of Haiti were enough to spin the boat around and blow out both our sails. We were adrift at sea for about 15 hours getting slammed repeatedly by huge waves slapping the side of the boat with such force that several more things were broken and there wasn't anything we could do about it. Before Ian and I headed out on deck to try and fashion some repairs, I decided it would be prudent to put out a distress call and at least have somebody out there that knew of our situation and where we were. It took about 4 hours, but we finally raised someone in the USA on our ham radio and they patched us through to Herb of Southbound II, a radio call-in station operating back in our home port of Toronto, Canada.
Herb was great and immediately put us on a check-in schedule to keep track of our progress and condition. Coast guard was notified and they immediately requested all our details and inventory of our onboard safety and emergency gear. We let them know that while we were in clear and present danger, we did not regard it to be life-threatening at this time. They said as there were no ships in the area to render assistance, the only thing they could offer was a helicopter that could airlift everyone off the boat if we wanted to abandon ship. We weren't ready to give up on 'Sophisticated Lady' that easily so told them we were still trying to repair systems enough to get us back to shore. They requested Herb to notify them of any updates he would receive from us and then we got to work.
Ian and I strapped on our harnesses to go out on deck while Karen and Kira stood by in the cockpit to do any line handling we needed while trying to wrestle the remains of the mainsail back onto the boom. We surveyed the jib and decided we would try and bring out a small piece of it to help steady the boat. There was only about 6 feet of it we could bring out before a gaping hole in the sail was exposed. The wind was still blowing about 40knots, so that little piece of sail was just enough to get our bow pointed North towards land, instead of drifting West out to sea.
With the boat steadied out and semi-on course, now it was time to get back to figuring out our engine problem. Once we got back to the island, we knew we'd need some kind of power to make the cut around the West side of the island once it turned upwind since we no longer had a mainsail to sail with. The sea-water pump had definitely given up on us and all attempts to revive it were met the same result... no cooling water. We had just replaced the impellor with a new one before leaving Haiti, and everything appeared to be in perfect condition, but it simply wouldn't draw water. There must be a crack in the housing or something that is preventing it from creating suction to draw water. With that established, the next task would be to establish a new means of circulating water through the engine if we were to recover any form of propulsion at all.
After spending some time considering options from what I had onboard, I ended up borrowing one of the electric shower sump pumps and plumbing it into the engine with various pieces of hose that I keep onboard as spares. We bypassed the sea-water pump completely, and as soon as we turned on the electric pump water started flowing through the system. This was great news because it confirmed that nothing was plugged! With the cooling system functioning, now it was time to do something about the muffler. The heat had completely melted the flange that the exhaust hose was supposed to clamp on to, and there was a big hole melted in the side of it. We found that a soup can was almost exactly the right diameter for the inside of the exhaust hose, so we had soup for lunch and then cut both ends off the can to fashion our new mounting flange. We clamped it in, and then tried to seal it into the tank by wrapping a wet towel around it and cover it tightly with duct tape... amazing what you can do with duct tape! The same thing was done to plug the hole in the side, stuffed it with a wet towel and then wrapped the entire muffler with duct tape to hold it all together.
It definitely helped, but the tape simply couldn't hold a seal against the pressure of the exhaust so we still had smoke coming in the cabin and water leaking into the bilge. By now we were almost at Ile La Vache, and in the shadow of the island so the winds were very calm... we were almost there and the wind completely died so now we were drifting right past the island in the current... It was time to try our 'MacGyver'd' engine! We switched on the pump, started the motor, and put Kira in charge of manning the bilge pumps to make sure the water was reliably being pumped back out of the boat. We put it into gear and managed to make about 3 knots as the engine would only run at idle speed. After 3 hours everything was going smoothly, but our eyes and noses were burning from the fumes, even with every window open!
The Coast Guard had notified the Port Morgan Hotel that we were in the area and very disabled and may need a tow. They sent a boat out to find us in the dark, and we followed them into the cut between the reefs and into the anchorage. We followed in under our own power, and we were safely anchored at exactly midnight on Christmas Eve... the exact time the hotel started a huge display of fireworks right over our heads... what a way to greet Christmas! We were all exhausted and just thrilled to have made it back in one piece... kind of! Within an hour, Kira had a great Christmas dinner on the table... how she managed that, we had no idea, but it was delicious and we were very appreciative!
Since then we have been busy trying to repair systems on the boat, but there are no support facilities here for any parts or service. A large group of people in Tortola have come together in our support to help us find our way home since they know we were here simply to help others in need, and now we have become in need. Several are trying to raise funds for us as new sails were not in our budget this year, on top of all the other repairs we have to make now as well. The locals have been helping as much as they can, which is a strange turn of events considering we came here to help them. A bunch of the guys took our sails ashore to work on them and see what they could do. They put up a valiant effort by hand-stitching in cloth patches over all the holes in the sails, now we look like a Haitian sloop! We really appreciated the time and effort they put forth, but after surveying the repairs and seeing how easily the new additions rip out, we are unfortunately still quite stranded.
We had such a great outpouring of support in the British Virgin Islands before we left, everyone in the local communities and the Rotary Club were all behind us to help make it happen. Even the Moorings charter base gave us fuel and provisions for the trip, that was a very nice gesture on their part! Parts & Power donated all the spare maintenance parts we'd need, in addition to filters, oil, coolant, etc... and even the local legal community raised funds to help cover other expenses we'd encounter along the way. The owner of Parts & Power has since managed to put together all the parts we need to repair the engine, but currently we have still not found a way to get them safely here. Remember that the reason we are here is because all too often things disappear in Haiti before reaching their intended recipients, that is why we had to deliver the Christmas gifts personally.
There is a huge story here to be written about our experiences during this mission... the people, the place, the unbelievable contrasts that exist here... and that will follow in another update, but for now we must concentrate on getting 'Sophisticated Lady' fit for sea again so we can make our way home as soon as possible. Until that happens, we remain stranded in Haiti.
I've been posting on a forum some details and pictures of everything... been getting some great tips while trying to fix things onboard. If anyone else has any ideas, they are always welcome. The forums have been broken into sections due to the number of responses, and there are several pages to link through on each, but here are links to the last two forums: [/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]
We have very limited internet access here through the hotel we are anchored in front of, but try and check in for emails at least once day. We should be on again tomorrow, so until then we wish everyone the best of New Years.
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Best Regards,
Rick Moore
Captain, 'Sophisticated Lady'
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